Factory 2DR Discovery???

[4Rescue]

So I was looking at a sig of one our members that said "Discover 2dr" so I did a bit of internet hunting and all I could find was this pic in an add for a Discovery "comercial" that appears to be a 2dr Discovery with panel sides...Anybody got some info to share with me because I'm coming up empty...

Here's the truck I'm refering to as an example:

Cheers

Dave

 

[Yorker]

What do you want to know about them? the first discos, like the first RRCs were all 2 doors, well the discos were 3 doors. the 5 door Discos came about in the fall of 1990. There were commercial and special variants too like the van version one you posted.

 

[traveltoad]

What do you want to know about them? the first discos, like the first RRCs were all 2 doors, well the discos were 3 doors. the 5 door Discos came about in the fall of 1990. There were commercial and special variants too like the van version one you posted.

Did they make a DII commercial version as well?

 

[stu454]

I like the straight-forward appearance of these trucks.

Only the kid can't look out

 

[4Rescue]

What do you want to know about them? the first discos, like the first RRCs were all 2 doors, well the discos were 3 doors. the 5 door Discos came about in the fall of 1990. There were commercial and special variants too like the van version one you posted.

Careful what you offer mate, I can ask ALOT of questions HAHAHAHA

No, I had just literaly NEVER heard of these variants and never seen one either. I was not aware that they existed. I'd ahve thought that I'd seen ONE built up over the years but no, NEVER heard of them. To me they look like the basis of a Dakar Rally vehicle.
-I assume they were never offered in the US?
-And as someone else asked were there ever DII 2DR's???
-Was there anything special about them underneath? like different tranny's? stronger "comercial" axles or were they just plain old Disco's with a unique body.

What's kind of odd is that I google image searched and that was the ONLY picture of one I could find. Anyone got anymore?

Cheers

Dave

 

[01001010]

I don't know about DIIs but there are commercial versions of the LR3 or Disco3 in other countries

 

[Yorker]

Careful what you offer mate, I can ask ALOT of questions HAHAHAHA

No, I had just literaly NEVER heard of these variants and never seen one either. I was not aware that they existed. I'd ahve thought that I'd seen ONE built up over the years but no, NEVER heard of them. To me they look like the basis of a Dakar Rally vehicle.
-I assume they were never offered in the US?
-And as someone else asked were there ever DII 2DR's???
-Was there anything special about them underneath? like different tranny's? stronger "comercial" axles or were they just plain old Disco's with a unique body.

What's kind of odd is that I google image searched and that was the ONLY picture of one I could find. Anyone got anymore?

Cheers

Dave

I think all the Discos imported to North America were 5 door versions so that is what you most often see here on Expedition Portal. Look at clips from the 1990 Camel Trophy or European based message boards and you'll see more 3 door Discos.

The van sided 3 door Discos I think came about in 1992 and I have never seen one of those in North America. I don't think there was anything special about them other than their lack of windows.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Did they make a DII commercial version as well?

Yes, but I don't know if it was 3 door. Seems just about every vehicle available in England is available in commercial trim. Sometimes that just means the seats are missing. I believe there's some big tax reduction if you drive a "commercial" vehicle, so if you use it for business and don't need back seats, they choose a commercial.

I don't know about DIIs but there are commercial versions of the LR3 or Disco3 in other countries

There's even a commercial Freelander.

 

[4Rescue]

Cool, neat to know and thanks as always for the facts and interesting tid-bits of information guy's.

I've watched all of the You-Tube available CT vids and I had seen 2dr RRC's (those look really cool btw espescialy the Jungle Treck Vid of the father son combo if anyone knows the vid I'm refering to...) but I've yet to see a 2dr Disco that wasn't like the comercial one I posted.

SO were they shorter??? The 2dr DI's???

Seems like the Disco, for as much interior volume as it has, was a somewhat short rig as it is, I can't imagine a shorter WB version with the big chunky but they have on them... It's looking wierd in my head. I've seen the bobed Disco's running around down south, but I CANNOT find a pic of a 2dr "NON Panel-side" Disco.

I gotta say, I really kind of like the idea of the panel side Diso in my OP, that way you could m ount all kinds of stuff on the sides there and have less glass to break into. I mena when you're loaded up you can hardly see out of those windows in any truck and alot of Ex-MOD 109's have hard-top's with no side windows so... Like I said, I thin k Shovel, Axe, sand ladders etc would be sweet mounted there or maybe some boxes built into the sides there like on a utillity topper.

blah blah blah

Cheers

DAve

Edit: OH SNAP, I somehow finnaly got google to throw me a frickin bone... Pretty cool looking disco but since it looks to the same size I guess the extra door is actualy better from an access stand-point. Kind of reminds me of the 2dr 2nd Gen 4Runner. No removable top, same W/B and size, just worse access to the back seats... Still these DO look cool, wish I saw more of them.

...and a 2dr RRC, I like the classic looks of these. Throw one on top of a Turbo-Diesel LC80 series chasis and I think you'd ahve a really neat rig.

 

[michaelgroves]

SO were they shorter??? The 2dr DI's???

Seems like the Disco, for as much interior volume as it has, was a somewhat short rig as it is, I can't imagine a shorter WB version with the big chunky but they have on them... It's looking wierd in my head. I've seen the bobed Disco's running around down south, but I CANNOT find a pic of a 2dr "NON Panel-side" Disco.

No, same dimensions. 3-door versions were available right up until the release of the Disco II, in both pane-van form (commercial) as well as passenger vehicles.

I gotta say, I really kind of like the idea of the panel side Diso in my OP, that way you could m ount all kinds of stuff on the sides there and have less glass to break into. I mena when you're loaded up you can hardly see out of those windows in any truck and alot of Ex-MOD 109's have hard-top's with no side windows so... Like I said, I thin k Shovel, Axe, sand ladders etc would be sweet mounted there or maybe some boxes built into the sides there like on a utillity topper.

I have seen commercial Discos equipped with all kinds of nifty stuff - such as a complete workshop, with tool cabinets and pull-out drawers etc, coming out from the rear sides. Very nice for expedition stuff too! We saw this one in Zambia in 1995 as part of a Spanish TV trans-Africa expedition. Sadly, I don't have any better pics, but it was beautifully equipped, even without the microlight helicopter on the roof!

...and a 2dr RRC, I like the classic looks of these. Throw one on top of a Turbo-Diesel LC80 series chasis and I think you'd ahve a really neat rig.

The RRC is beautifully proportioned as a 2-door. But pretty grim to be a back-seat passenger with the difficult access, and ghastly sliding windows! Like the Discovery, the 100-inch wheelbase also meant that the rear seat was mounted over the wheel arches, and if there were 3 people on the back seat, the middel guy was ok, but the others' outer butt-cheeks could get a bit bruised when things got bumpy! That didn't change with the introduction of the 4-door.


Here's a few pics of the 1994 2-door Discovery 300Tdi I bought by accident. (I missed that little detail when I bought it on Ebay - DUH!)

 

[Toy-Roverlander]

I've got a 2door Disco. It's a D1, 06-1998 model, 300tdi manual. It's the most basic version, no sunroofs, steel wheels. It's got nothing except electric windows at the front and aircon. Just what you want, keeping it simple.
It's done 216.000km and is fully serviced. Just done a 9.000km trip through South Africa with it with absolutely NO problems.

I believe the D1 were available as commercial here in the Netherlands as well, though I can't remember ever seeing one.
I believe the Land Rover Enthusiast magazine did an article about them, I've got it somewhere...

It's exactly the same vehicle underneath. It's just that it's a 2door body instead of a 4door. I was quite surprised when I saw the one for sale I've got now. I didn't know they still made 2doors after '90 or '91 or something.
I reckon the 4door looks better, and access to the rear seats is much better if you can go through a door instead of climbing past the front seats.

Anyway, here are 2 pics. I wanted to see what articulation was like. And it's quite disappointing actually. It was already crossaxled here. Mind, it does still have the front and rear anti-sway bars fitted, that doesn't help. (My Series IIa has better articulation than this thing.....)

 

[4Rescue]

Actualy Toy-Rover it was your thread and sig I was reading that led to this thread ahahahaha. Nice truck, I really like these and like I said, I'd never seen one.

Michael: Thanks for the awesome pics, I can't belive that they had that mini-choper on the roof, between that, the 4wheelers, the big motor home on sterroids and the bike on the back of that, I think they're covered, wonder if they have a boat somewhere in there. Anyway, thanls for the pics, that must have been something truly awesome to see and quite a place to be yourself. God how I miss being out in the bush and not in the city going through the motions of life...

Cheers

Dave

 

[Toy-Roverlander]

Actualy Toy-Rover it was your thread and sig I was reading that led to this thread ahahahaha. Nice truck, I really like these and like I said, I'd never seen one.

God how I miss being out in the bush and not in the city going through the motions of life...

Cheers

Dave

Haha, funny, what a coincidence.
I actually prefer a 4door instead. I think the look better and there's better access to whatever you've got in the back. But oh well, this one had the right price tag on it.

You're not the only one who misses being in the bush.....

Koos

 

[Sleeping Dog]

Commercial Disco

A couple of years ago Land Rover World or Land Rover Enthusiast had an article on the commercial version of the Disco. I bet a search of their archives would turn up the issue, which they would glad to sell you if your really interested.

 

[UK4X4]

comercial disco's, identical truck to standard

usually sold without rear seats and panelled out rear.

VAT tax runs around 18% in the UK, buy a standard disco and you pay it within the sticker price

if you had a VAT registered business you paid 18% less for the truck as you claimed the VAT back.

Then you take around the corner have a couple of seats from a scrapped vehicle fitted and two side windows...and saved a rather large wadge of money.

Even now you can buy a 'commercial" defender from some some independant LR dealers who re-fit new factory gear for seats windows etc

You pay less money and less road tax on an identical vehicle......

UK tax is a pain and many people go to great lengths to get around paying
high rates